


We'll Be Running, Running, Again

by writingramblr



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Changing Tenses, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gyms, I'm Going to Hell, Loss of Virginity, Meet-Cute, One Shot, Romance, Sorry Not Sorry, Virgin!Kylo is my fave kink no lie, hinted at - Freeform, there is a fuck you to the haters, this got way long
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-29
Updated: 2015-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-10 03:46:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5569774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writingramblr/pseuds/writingramblr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On a dare, Rey is visiting one of the most loathsome places known to exist.<br/>Luckily, there's some brooding eye candy to be seen.</p><p> </p><p>Unluckily, the eye candy looks back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We'll Be Running, Running, Again

**Author's Note:**

> this got way long and was mostly born out of need for a one shot with a one night stand type of deal that gets complicated.  
> oops.  
> i love these two so much i just write any trash for them tbh

The gym was the absolute last place Rey wanted to be.

It was too bright, too busy, and smelled like…alcohol wipes?

Okay so it wasn’t _all_ bad, but the mere fact she’d lost a bet to Poe and Finn in the first place annoyed her to no end.

“Just go once. If you really can’t stand it, Poe said you can just wash his car. In a bikini.”

Finn had told her.

She’d rolled her eyes and nearly taken the latter then and there, but she also didn’t own a bikini, and didn’t feel like going out to buy one just for the sake of the bet.

So there she was, standing frozen like a deer in the headlights, looking over the gym floor, at all the machines and the scattering of people in various stages of their workouts. All the way down at the end, by a row of mirrors, she noted with a trace of irony, were the weights and weight machines.

She wasn’t sure what to do first. Treadmill, or stair stepper?

Warm up with a bike or a rowing machine?

Finally she decided to just do the closet thing, which was the elliptical.

She pulled out her cellphone, flicked on the radio app, and put her headphones in, determined to survive the next hour, sweat a little, and then get the heck out of dodge.

Starting out, it wasn’t so bad. It was kind of like jogging in place, and the only problem had been where to hang her bag. She ended up putting it on the front of the machine.

Looking around, she noticed a couple of people running on the track above, on the second floor, as well as several somewhat attractive guys scattered throughout the weight lifting room.

One in particular was extremely tall and thin, doing lunges out of the room, with a heavy bell in each hand.

She rolled her eyes and looked back towards the front of the room, where there were at least a dozen televisions playing nonsense like talk shows or soap operas.

After the song she was listening to ended, she didn’t like the next one, so she plucked up her phone to change it, and caught a glimpse of the same guy out of the corner of her eye.

He was walking…no, lunging, right past her machine.

‘Don’t look at me.’

She thought to herself, trying her best to mentally project at him.

She was wearing the baggiest navy sweats she could find, and a navy tank top with a brown hoodie that was originally Poe’s but then Finn had borrowed it and she’d been cold and he’d given it to her.

It was a great hoodie.

She almost felt guilty for sweating on it.

When the next song ended, she paused the workout on her machine, and stopped to take off the hoodie and fold it over the front of the machine on top of her bag.

So what if she couldn’t see the screen completely?

Her calorie count would be a happy mystery.

Ten minutes passed, and Rey felt her brow beginning to drip sweat down her cheeks.

‘This is good.’

She thought to herself.

Taking a cursory look around the room, it seemed to have gotten a bit busier since she’d arrived, and yet, there was the same guy, over in the corner now, doing leg presses.

With dark hair that wasn’t quite as long as hers, but almost, he had a broody look about him, and if she’d known any better, she would have said he didn’t outgrow being an ‘emo’ kid.

Unfortunately, she didn’t quite look away in time.

He glanced up from glaring at the floor to meet her stare.

She jerked her head back to face front again, focusing with too much strength on the current soap drama unfolding before her, and she cursed mentally.

‘Stop looking at him!’

Her machine beeped and she realized her workout was almost over.

When had that happened?

Oh. When she covered the countdown clock and the calorie count.

Oops.

She was only half through the hour, so she would have to try out a different machine.

She gritted her teeth, annoyance at Poe burning through her.

Her legs were beginning to seize up from overuse, so she eyed the rowing machines. They would have to do.

*

Ben didn’t come to the gym for fun. He came because he never wanted to be seen as the skinny boy who’d been teased endlessly throughout middle school and high school and only _just_ gotten back at the bullies in senior year, thanks to a membership gifted to him by his uncle.

So instead of sitting at home and feeling angry at the world and himself, he went to the gym and worked out until he couldn’t feel anything.

Monday was arms, Tuesday was legs, Wednesday was abs, Thursday was chest and quads, and Friday was a free for all.

He did a bit of everything until he thought he might be sick.

Currently, he was lunging across the gym and daring anyone to get in his way, a fifteen pound barbell in each hand.

There was a girl with a curious three bun hairstyle who was brand new, and he could tell considering how often he was there, who was a newbie and who was a vet just changing gyms.

She stared at the floor for a while, as if trying to figure out where to start, and he bit his cheek to keep from smiling.

Eventually she made a beeline for the elliptical nearest to her, and by the time he was on that side of the room, she’d begun.

He wasn’t sure why she drew his attention when there were plenty of girls there that he knew, and even some he would have considered going home with, but with her, she fascinated him.

The way she was easily distracted by her cell phone, the way she huffed and sighed, seeming to be cursing the very machine she stood on.

When he got closer, she actually turned around to look at him.

Sure she’d been taking in the rest of the crowd too, but he’d been smack dab in the middle of her sightline.

He forced himself to keep his face relaxed, not wanting to frown or smile.

Standing up from his last lunge, he saw her head snap straight again, and she was intently gazing up at one of the tvs.

‘Nice try.’

He thought to himself. All of a sudden, he was dying of thirst, so he made his way back to the weight room to set the barbells down, before heading for the water fountains.

Upon his return, he noticed her looking in his direction vaguely, before looking at the front again.

He couldn’t help grinning a bit to himself.

As he passed behind her, he snuck a peek at her body, and was slightly disappointed to see she wore shapeless sweats and a tank.

For the most part, he couldn’t tell if she was there just testing things out, or because she really wanted to do something.

Judging by her exposed arms, she was in perfect shape, just not bristling with muscle or extremely toned.

He sat down at the leg press machine for a few reps, and continued to watch her.  She sped up her running, for a few seconds, and then slowed back to a normal pace.

Her phone was rarely out of her hands.

Then she was looking at him, and he’d caught her.

He smirked, but she’d already yanked her gaze away.

Without a thought, he got up and walked past her machine deliberately, observing she’d covered the display with her jacket, and he headed for the stairs.

He’d be able to get a good view of her from the track, and she’d have a harder time sneaking looks at him.

It was a win-win.

*

Rey wasn’t sure why she couldn’t stop staring at that guy. He was by far the tallest guy there, and if there was any way to judge by his tank and shorts, the most well cut for his lean silhouette.

 ‘I hate guys with facial hair,’ she told herself.

But on him…he looked rather like a sexy Jesus.

That was something that Poe would have said, and she grinned thinking about it, before frowning determinedly.

It was _his_ fault she was in this mess in the first place.

The guy moved, and was suddenly headed for the stairs.

For some reason, Rey’s heart had skipped a beat when it looked like he was walking out the front door.

He didn’t matter.

He was just some gym junkie, going by the hardened muscles on his legs and arms and…

What was she saying?

There was the beep signaling her workout had ended.

Dammit.

Rey sighed and then picked up all her stuff, roaming around the room and finally settling on a treadmill.

She didn’t feel like the rowing machine or the biking machine.

Too weird looking.

The treadmill could go as fast or slow as she wanted, so she set the incline to a high percentage and began to just walk.

She was in the right position to just look up and see any runners that passed by.

It took about three seconds for _the guy_ to pass.

She could feel his eyes on her.

The hardest thing she’d ever done was to keep staring straight ahead at the dullest soap opera playing out silently, except for the captions.

According to those, the main pretty girl had fallen for some guy she’d met at a party. Shocking. But the twist was, playing out on screen, that he was her long lost brother or something.

Rey rolled her eyes.

Talk about ridiculous.

 

There he was again.

She’d caved in and looked up right as he looked down at her, with something like a smirk playing around the edges of his lips.

Damn.

They looked pretty kissable.

Rey started and nearly fell over on the treadmill.

What was that?

Finn had joked with her, getting her heart rate up and exerting herself would probably make her a little restless, and Poe had chimed in that he always worked out before a night out so he’d be his most appealing.

Sweating released toxins and cooled one off, as well as stirred up the hormones it seemed.

Rey frowned at herself, and then exhaled slowly as she cranked up the incline.

Focus.

Focus.

Her music stopped, having reached the end of the playlist, and she huffed impatiently, picking up her phone to start it over, or pick a different one.

When she looked back up and moved to put her phone back, she bit back a scream.

 _He_ was standing off to the side, in her line of sight, and he was not messing around, he was giving her a goofy wave and a half smile.

She smacked her hand on the machine, putting her workout on pause, and yanked out her headphones.

“What?”

She hadn’t meant to snap quite so hard.

He didn’t seem intimidated or put off.

He was moving closer now,

“Just wondering if you needed a pair of blinders. Can’t seem to keep your eyes off me.”

If Rey hadn’t been exerting herself and already felt heat blooming on her face, she would surely have turned bright red with anger in that moment.

“Excuse me?”

He laughed, the bastard.

“I mean, I’m flattered. Not used to that sort of attention, honestly. From someone as lovely as you too. Thanks. Can I get you something from the vending machine?”

Rey’s mouth dropped as she felt a bead of sweat creep down her neck.

Was he on drugs?

He had to be, to get muscles like that with such a thin frame, and not to mention the way his forearms just _bulged_ and her tongue flicked out over her lips, suddenly gripped by the desire to lick them instead…

“Water.”

She found herself saying.

Instead of the logical thing like, get away from me, go fuck off, or something similar.

“Stuff of life. Be right back.”

Did the fucker just wink at her?

Rey was pretty sure he had.

The machine beeped at her, telling her to prepare to cool down, and yet, she didn’t feel tired.

Outlined in the bet, the hour she’d needed to work out for had long since passed, and she was technically free now.

She stepped off the treadmill in a daze, continuing to step with the urge of momentum that flowed through her.

It took her all the way down the hall to the machines where the tall guy was standing in front of, illuminated by the sickly white glow from the ceiling.

He was just too much.

He looked over at her and gave a lopsided smile,

“Impatient thing aren’t you?”

Rey’s throat was dry, and the snarky reply got stuck on the way out, so instead, she dropped her gym bag and stepped right up to him, kissing him right on his smug mouth.

Her first impression had been right. His lips were extremely kissable.

Never mind the fact he was a complete stranger who’d been eye-stalking her and just bought her an overpriced bottle of water when the fountains were perfectly functioning.

*

To say Ben was surprised when the girl got right in his face and kissed him would be an understatement.

However, it was second nature and pure instinct that made him bring his arms around her, and the unspoken pull from her very being that had him pressing her against the machine he’d just put three dollars into.

She broke the kiss with a gasp, and due to the fact she was unable to move too far and look up at him, she was forced to stare at his neck and exposed throat.

“Whoa.”

He pulled back at once, granting her space, but he couldn’t resist a chuckle at her shocked expression.

“Now that’s a different kind of thirsty, but one I can still try to help with.”

She blinked up at him, and she looked on the verge of shaking her head, but then glanced over at the hand he had moved to brace on the machine.

“Did you just cup my ass?”

Ben’s laugh took on a nervous edge.

“Maybe?”

He had gotten a little carried away in those hasty heated seconds. He couldn’t help being curious about just what was under those loose pants of hers.

“And you call me impatient?”

She was smirking now, and it made her look positively wicked.

He ruffled a hand through his hair,

“Sorry?”

She shrugged,

“It’s okay. One thing at a time. Drinks, then dinner. Then more of that.”

She was staring at his mouth now, and if he wasn’t mistaken, there was a glint of lust sparkling in her green eyes.

“Well then…it seems you know what you want.”

She nodded.

“It’s a date then.”

Her brows met on her forehead,

“When?”

He shrugged, mirroring her,

“How’s tonight looking?”

She gulped.

“I guess…”

“We just need to shower and change, and then the world is your oyster.”

Her face shifted into an amused smile,

“Oh really?”

“Unless you wanted to have dinner at a specific place, I make a mean grilled cheese and tomato soup duo.”

It was madness, pure insanity that made him suggest it.

Far too assuming.

But she was nodding.

“Okay. I’ve got two roommates who will beat the crap out of you if you try anything, just keep that in mind.”

Ben wasn’t worried, if she was saying yes to coming over to his place, then he was good.

“Right.”

She stuck her hand at his chest,

“I’m Rey.”

He snagged her hand and shook it firmly,

“Ben.”

“Here.”

She pulled a pen from her gym bag, after leaning over to retrieve it, during which he decidedly did not sneak a peek at the very ass which he’d hardly groped, and scribbled something on the back of his hand.

Her phone number.

“Text me your address, and I’ll be there around seven.”

Ben blinked, and then nodded.

She was giving him just over two hours to prepare everything, and he was suddenly glad he’d done laundry that morning.

His apartment would be twice as organized now.

“Great.”

“See you.”

She was already walking away, but still he felt a pull to her.

He was left staring at the vending machine, and realizing she’d managed to get her water too without him noticing.

*

Rey’s pulse was a frantic butterfly trapped beneath a glass as she walked up the front steps to Ben’s apartment.

She’d told both Poe and Finn to stand by, and that if they didn’t hear from her within ten minutes to come to that address, with all the cavalry they could muster.

She didn’t expect any trouble, but she knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Within a few moments of knocking on the door, it was pulled open, revealing Ben, clad in a black long sleeved shirt, dark wash jeans, and surprisingly barefoot.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Rey smiled nervously, and he suddenly stepped aside, waving her in. She saw the faint numbers on the back of his hand, and her heart made a flip flop in her chest.

“So everything’s here. You can pick your own bowl. I wasn’t sure how much soup you wanted, or if you wanted a whole or half sandwich…”

He trailed off, watching her and Rey pulled out her phone to text the all clear.

The way he scurried about his kitchen, which was impeccably designed, told her all she needed to know.

Anything else was left to the universe to sort out.

As far as she could tell, he might think he had game, but no woman had ever seen the inside of his apartment.

She wasn’t sure how she knew…she just did.

“I mean, I worked out today, so I can do a whole one. That bowl is fine.”

She pointed at one with a curious design of red and black stripes, and he grinned.

“That’s my favorite.”

Rey blinked, and withdrew her hand,

“Oh! Well then I’ll use a different one.”

He waved a hand about,

“It’s fine. I can share.”

He winked at her, before dishing the soup and then serving a sandwich straight off the stovetop onto her plate.

“Wow.”

It was a simple meal, and hardly gourmet, but to Rey, it was a delicious and admirable effort.

She didn’t need to be wowed when it came to food, most times she ate too fast to taste anything anyway. Poe and Finn always chided her, but old habits died hard.

 “What’s your poison?”

Ben was standing in front of an open cabinet and Rey spotted at least five different brands of alcohol, expensive stuff, and her mind immediately asked why a guy like him, hot, awkwardly cute, and rich, was single.

“Just water is fine.”

He turned to look at her, just a little funny, and she wondered what it was, again, that drew her to him so much.

Until his face broke into a smile, and then she got that funny tickle in her throat.

“You’re right. Best to keep our wits about us.”

He brought her a glass of water, just two solitary ice cubes floating in it, and she took a large sip gratefully.

After she’d demolished the sandwich and drained the soup bowl, and nearly every tame topic had been covered, she blurted out,

“Do you do this a lot?”

So what if she got the idea he didn’t, maybe he really was a player extraordinaire.

*

Ben nearly choked on his last bite of grilled cheese.

Rey was more than direct, she was a nonstop express to honest town, population him.

“Well, no. I’m more of a ‘look and remain silent’ type of guy. It all stems from my low self esteem you see.”

Completely a joking tone, but he was dead serious.

It was just what he did.

Rey blinked steadily at him, and tilted her head _just_ slightly.

“So you’re saying that normally you would have just stared and been done with it? Never come up to me?”

He can only shrug.

He doesn’t know why he took the leap with her.

Besides the fact that even now she’s the most gorgeous creature he’s ever seen.

Glistening with sweat and with eyes afire, prepared to deck him if needed, she’d captivated him.

Now?

She’s dressed in a turquoise wide necked sweater and khaki cargo pants.

Hair down but in waves from the way it dried.

She’s practically blinding him.

“The gym is the last place I thought I would be hit on, to tell you the truth.”

She added.

“I see.”

He finally says.

Clearly she has a warped view of herself, like he used to, and still does at times.

“Yeah?”

She’s grinning at him from over the rim of her glass, and he can’t help but echo the smile.

“I think you know that I didn’t look back at you just because you looked at me first. I wanted to keep your attention.”

He found himself confessing.

“Really?”

He can only nod.

“I hope I got yours.”

He nodded again,

“With that kiss, how could you not?”

Her cheeks are turning pink.

Something feral inside him roars to life, proud that he’s drawn that reaction from her.

“About that…and what I said…that was pretty lame.”

In two seconds he’s crossed from opposite her at the island, to inches from her body, and he knows that he kind of looms over her. She’s got that wide eyed look she had when he first approached her. Deer in the headlights. His hand lifted up of its own accord, brushing back a stray brown wave from her cheek.

“Rey… lame is pretty much the furthest thing from what you are.” He’d started off with a gentle breath of her name, and then gone off on a tangent cheesier than the sandwiches they’d just eaten. She looked down and away from him, her cheeks still pink.

“Thanks.”

Her hand had suddenly grabbed his free one, and the ease with which she entwines their fingers takes his breath away. His hand falls from her face, afraid it was too intimate, too fast. Despite that, he still wonders…

Can this really be happening?

Does she want to make their first, second and third dates all in one?

“Do you want…”

His voice broke, and he struggled to find the words.

“Another kiss? Absolutely.”

She finished the idea for him and he’s at the edge of a very high cliff.

“Great.”

She leans up and was probably on her very tip-toes, kissing him again.

For a moment, he froze.

Then his arms responded automatically by encircling her waist and he pulls her so close she probably can’t breathe.

She hums into the kiss, and that lights him afire.

Words from the song that had played as he’d first let himself look at her run through his mind.

‘If you wanna go to heaven you should fuck me tonight.’

That wasn’t the original intent, for any of it, but if she wants to get cut on his edges, then he’ll let her.

*

Rey wasn’t quite sure what was wrong with her, why was she just thinking about ripping the clothes off of Ben and shoving him down on the floor?

The exercise, whispered a small voice in the back of her mind.

She’d done all that work, gotten all that energy flowing, and now it had nowhere to go.

She broke the kiss just to ask,

“How bad would it be if I asked to see your bedroom?”

She could almost taste his smirk, as he answered, before renewing the kiss,

“So very bad.”

Then, he was letting go of her waist and pulling back to sweep her into his arms, literally taking her breath away and stealing her feet from underneath her.

His room wasn’t very far off the main front entryway, and she had about five seconds to appreciate the décor before he plopped her down on the bed.

“So…this is it.”

“I like it.”

Black and grey and silver were the main colors, but overall it came off as very cozy.

She thought he might say something else but in a heartbeat he was tugging off his shirt and tossing it aside, leaving her to simply stare at his defined chest and when her eyes reached his abs, her jaw actually dropped.

“Wow.”

He grinned.

“All that hard work is now worth it.”

She gulped.

“Just how much work went into that?”

He shrugged.

“Months and weeks and years. They all blend together after a while. Let’s just say I didn’t always look like this.”

“Okay.”

The next few minutes were a flurry of activity, shedding clothing and trying to avoid staring too long at anything.

By the time they actually fell into bed, Rey was vibrating with nervous energy, and Ben was quick to absorb it.

“Promise not to laugh?”

He asked.

She nodded.

“Of course.”

“Is it just me, or does this feel…right?”

Rey knew the girls who talked and talked about destiny and fate and happy ever after bullshit and she’d fought so hard with herself to argue they were just dreamers.

But, despite throwing herself into the situation that normally would have been considered any other one nighter, she nodded.

“Yeah. It does.”

His hands touching her body felt right, felt as if she’d been just going through the motions with anyone else.

She’d never been able to come from a guy going down on her.

Ever.

She’d always thought they lacked skill or finess.

Ben had absolutely zip in the skill but he made up for it with patience and enthusiasm.

She bit her tongue when the thought that he was a virgin ran through her mind, and then after he hit just the right spot with his fingers, all thoughts escaped her.

The bedside cabinet drawer was stocked with condoms, so at the very least, he was a prepared virgin.

She flicked it open, and slide one on him, just slow enough to torture him as long as possible, and then with boldness inspired by the afternoon, she pushed him back, and moved to climb on top of him.

“Oh…okay.”

His chest was heaving from exertion, and Rey decided she liked working out like this much better than fake running or walking.

*

Ben was dying. He had to be.

That was the only explanation.

Also, the song was right.

Fucking Rey was about as close to heaven as his poor atheist soul was going to get, and he didn’t mind at all.

She rode him fiercely, and the very instant he felt her clench around him, coming again for the second time, he lost all his careful control.

He gripped her hips so hard he knew he left bruises, and the strained gasp she let out was just fuel for the fire of his arousal.

The stars he saw when he finally fell off that cliff of oblivious pleasure under her were brighter than any in the sky.

“Damn.”

She breathed out, leaning forward to kiss him, accidentally or not, forcing him deeper, and drawing out his aftershocks.

“I’ve wasted so much money.”

He found himself mumbling.

Rey climbed up and off of him, collapsing at his side, clutching an arm around his sweaty chest.

“What’s that?”

“On the gym. Fucking highway robbery. I could have been getting my cardio done like that.”

Rey smiled lazily,

“Yes but if you didn’t use the gym, where would you have found me to stare at?”

Ben exhaled slowly,

“True. I suppose they’re good for one thing then.”

He found himself petting her hair, and when her breathing slowed and her eyes fluttered closed, something went ‘click’ in his heart.

That was it.

The moment.

*

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> halsey is my be all end all for reylo at this point.
> 
>  
> 
> and no hate on actual gyms, i am a total fitness junkie so yeah


End file.
